Baneberry (Actaea rubra)

Hamilton Mountain Trail, Columbia Gorge, WA, 5/2014.

This member of the buttercup family is seen at all elevations across most of the the Northeast, North-central, and Western U.S. One might easily mistake it for the similarly-named False Bugbane. As the name suggests, however, this plant is the bane of more than just bugs. Along with every part of the plant, its shiny, bright-red (and sometimes white) berries are extremely poisonous. Robert Ross says, in Wildflowers of the Western Cascades, that consuming 2 or 3 of them may be enough to kill a small child. We don’t think too many people would mistakenly try the strange looking berrries below.